


what this palace wants is release

by MercyBuckets



Series: we're on each other's team [3]
Category: Killjoys (TV), Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Assassination Attempt(s), Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Male-Female Friendship, Political Alliances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-23 06:58:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13782207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MercyBuckets/pseuds/MercyBuckets
Summary: Dutch might be getting a little too comfortable, but she has people watching her back so maybe that's not the worst thingKilljoys & 7kpp Fusion





	what this palace wants is release

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hagar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hagar/gifts).



> For Hagar, I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. Chag Sameach!

* * *

 

‘I’ve got you, I’ve got you. Just breathe.’

There are arms around her but Dutch can’t tell if she shaking because of the proximity or the adrenaline crash. Someone just tried to kill her.

‘I hate that horse,’ she croaks. She looks up into the face of Alvis Akari. Next to him D’avin Jaqobis scans the horizon. On her other side, the younger Jaqobis brother, John, soothes the horse. Someone just tried to kill her and she wasn’t ready for it. She’s getting soft. She felt ... safe, untouchable. She almost died for it.

‘It wasn’t his fault,’ John declares triumphantly. He holds up a long thorn. ‘Fire thorn, this was an assassination attempt.’

Dutch already knows but somehow hearing it out loud makes it worse. For a moment she had almost believed the lie that Vail Isle would be different. But it isn’t. It is just as treacherous as the harem and she can’t afford to falter now.

D’avin must mistake her resolve for shock. ‘We should get you back to the castle.’

‘She can ride with me,’ says Alvis. ‘If that’s amenable to you Lady Yelena.’

She nods her assent still lost in thought and swings up behind Alvis on his horse. She’s dimly aware of D’avin moving in front of them and John bringing up the rear, leading her limping horse beside his own.

Who wants her dead? Delle Kendry is at the top of the list but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s behind this. It could be Lady Simms, Fancy Lee, the head butler Turin, who really seems to hate her. Trees! It could be another test from Khylen. There are too many possibilities and Dutch’s head is beginning to pound. Suddenly all she wants is for Bellus to make all of this go away. It’s a childish thought— one Khylen would certainly make her pay for in bruises if he knew— but it’s nice to have a mentor who solves problems instead of beating her for them.

She’s shaken out of her dangerous thoughts by Alvis.

‘Do you have any ideas why someone would want you dead, Yelena?’ he asks.

‘Power, I presume,’ Dutch says, perhaps a touch too nonchalant. ‘Or perhaps to destabilize the summit? Why else would anyone want me dead?’

‘Why else indeed,’ says Alvis. She can hear an undercurrent in his voice that makes her wonder what he’s not saying. She doesn’t push though.

‘Thank you for saving me,’ she says instead.

‘Thank me by watching your back,’ he answers. ‘You wouldn’t want to attract the ... wrong sort of attention.’


End file.
